A Land Far Away

For those that are curious...

My video card exploded a few weeks ago and since then I have been unable to DM. I will be getting a system built for me by my brother, he is thinking of using a server case he has come across... he is inquiring about what type of mother board to use (This is all WAY beyond my understanding)

He works for a server building company, they make commercial servers so he gets all the parts he wants at cost...

He thinks that although I will be using a huge ... 3'X8"X1' server case thingy that I should not use a server style mother board...

I have no idea but I did tell him that I want to be able to host a module.

Any way in the mean time he is sending me a 64 meg vid card so hopefully I will be able to run games again...we'll see.

I don't expect to have the card and be ready to run again for 2-3 weeks. I will guess that it will be a good 2 months before I get the new system...but then hopefully I will be able to DM on NWN2 and be closer to being able to host.

Any advice on components and such for the building of a server machine would be much appreciated.

I guess in the long run my video card exploding will hopefully be a good thing.

Since I am building a new system, I am curious what the experts suggest...

I have a free server style case that I don't know anything about, I know that it has a much larger power supply than a standard PC, a boat load of fans and the capability of installing a large number of hard drives and other components...

My Brother works for some company where he can get parts at cost...

What is the minimum I need to host an NWN2 server?

What would be the best set-up?

Is there any "must have" parts or parts that I should "avoid".

Thanks in advance for the help!

edit: double post

A 64 mb video card? Will that even run NWN1?

Shit, I'd at least get a 128 for nwn1, and a nvidia 6600 256mb(one of the lowest capable for NWN2) can only be a bit over a hundred bucks these days.

Host for NWN2, probably 4 gb of ram, 3 ghz processor(Intel 4 or equivalent), dsl or cable connection.

Vendrin wrote:A 64 mb video card? Will that even run NWN1?

I have no idea, but I will find out, the card is free so its worth a shot while I wait for the new system, It just doesn't make sence for me to buy a better card right now.

Thanks for the info. I will call my brother today and let him know what to look for...

Vendrin do you know anything about the motherboards?

Vendrin wrote:A 64 mb video card? Will that even run NWN1?

Yes. I ran NWN1 on a 64MB for years. If that's a free temp solution it works. But don't waste any money on a 64 MB vid card.

psycho_leo wrote:

Vendrin wrote:A 64 mb video card? Will that even run NWN1?

Yes. I ran NWN1 on a 64MB for years. If that's a free temp solution it works. But don't waste any money on a 64 MB vid card.

Seconded -- I ran NWN1 on a 64 meg card until this summer. It's a bit more severe a stall when loading areas/drawing stuff (especially those obnoxious players who insist on having every VFX imagineable active) than with the other cards, and your fps will drop pretty harshly at the beginning of fights or if your camera is pointed at enough things walking around.

Playable unless you do the "greifspawn [insignificant mob of choice]" DMing (crappy DMing, imho, anyway) or want to simulate a bustling marketplace (in which case I hope your players would understand if you said "hey, my vid card sucks. I'm gonna spawn 6 commoners; there are 50." If they not, they're crappy players, imho, anyway!).

Use the 64meg video card on whatever computer you plan to use to Host a module. Get something better for the new system you're building.

And yeah, I agree with everyone above. I ran NWN with 64meg video cards in the first year or so of ALFA and it largely ran fine. Slow, but fine. Really intensive areas will give you fits though. Busy city blocks and whatnot, or areas with lots of NPCs & critters moving about.

ASUS EN8400GS $49.99 from Newegg.com

ASUS EN9600GT $134.99 after $20 rebate from Newegg.com

-Bill

I'd recommend you get at least a 8800GT for your new computer.

In any case... this is the last thread all geeks gathered to talk about specs.

Nalo Jade wrote: Vendrin do you know anything about the motherboards?

Not a whole lot, but depending on what kind of processor you intend to get (athlon or intel) you need to decide. I use athlon and went with the MSI K7N2 last time i did a desktop upgrade(about two years ago) and it works well, so an MSI motherboard would be what I recommend if you choose an athlon processor.

8800GT, works great for nwn2, but absolultly hates nwn1 for me. Something about not being able to handle draw "ogl" files for it. Hate to derail the subject, but if someone knows where I should set nwn1 props for the 8800 GT please let me know.

Server cases are noisy, make sure it does not have high speed fans..
For hosting, 3-4GB of memory (the maximum XP or vista 32 bit can handle)
good hard disks, if possible in a RAID1 or 5 configuration.

For a video card, the 9600 costs 120 to 150$ these days, it is more than enough for nwn2.

Motherboard: for intel cpu: any board based on the p45. (Asus P5Q etc)
for AMD: any board based on the latest nforce (780, 790 afaik)

For nwn1 on geforce, use older drivers, version 70 to 90 should do.